Drivers to blame for two-thirds of bicycle collisions in Westminster

Not invincible: three cyclists have been killed on London’s streets in the past month Jeremy Selwyn

Two-thirds of collisions between vehicles and cyclists in central London are the fault of the driver, research revealed today.

Westminster council found that drivers were to blame in 68 per cent of incidents while cyclists were responsible for 20 per cent. In the remainder of cases, both were to blame or the cause could not be attributed.

The figures emerged in the council’s draft cycling strategy, which aims to build on plans from Boris Johnson to double the number of people cycling in London in the next decade.

Parliament Square, Millbank, Vauxhall Bridge Road and Grosvenor Place in Victoria were listed among the most dangerous areas for cyclists in the borough.

It said the most common contributory factors in vehicle-cyclist collisions were drivers failing to look properly (21 per cent), drivers being careless or reckless or in a hurry (13 per cent), drivers failing to judge the cyclist’s speed or path (10 per cent) and drivers passing too close to the cyclist (10 per cent).

It revealed there were 133 collisions between cyclists and pedestrians in the past three years, with 60 per cent attributable to pedestrians and 40 per cent to cyclists.

Only eight per cent of incidents were down to cyclists ignoring red lights.

The report, which proposes that Westminster become a “national leader in cycling provision”, found a steady decline in serious injuries to cyclists but a rise in slight injuries.

The borough went almost three years without a cyclist fatality until scientist Dr Katharine Giles was killed in Victoria Street last month.

The report recommends the council becomes the ninth in London to require contractors to use HGVs fitted with side protection bars, mirrors and sensors to reduce the risk to cyclists.